Sophia 3rd
Sophia 3rd, NORA MA-01, (also known as SOPHIA THE 3RD) given to Jason by Eve, is an all-terrain agile battle tank from a foreign world. It's tough enough to ignore falling damage, take several direct hits from ordnance, is more or less immune to environmental conditions, and even survive in lava for more than a couple seconds. It can jump impressively high and is highly modular. Previous versions, which presumably exist due to the "3rd", are unknown. The vehicle was constantly tinkered with after it fell into Jason's hands, undergoing several retoolings and rebuilds over the years. In Blaster Master, Jason encounters Sophia in a massive hole after chasing a mutated Fred. Its sudden appearance is not explained in the game, and it wasn't until the canonization of the Worlds of Power novel that it gained a backstory relating to Eve. Weapons Sophia 3rd has a basic cannon that is strong enough to take out most foes in one shot. The cannon can quickly swivel in any direction and even aim upwards. The cannon can only have three shots in the air at a time. Its utility is further extended in Blaster Master Zero with upgrades allowing various focused attacks to be charged and fired. * Hyper Shot (all except Enemy Below) * Crusher Shot (all revisions) * Laser Shot (Zero) * Maximum Shot (Zero) * Cannon Shot (Zero) * Acceleration Blast (Zero) It can stock a variety of sub-weapons, up to 99 of each in the NES and GBC games, or linked to a mutual SP bar in Zero. * Thunder Breaker * Warhead Missiles * Homing Missile * Spark Tackle (Zero only) * Shield Mine (Zero only) Mobility Sophia's jumping ability allows it to leap about four times its height. It can change direction in mid-flight, but only at half-speed should it turn around. * Hover Pack: Permits limited flight. * Dive Module: Grants full movement in water. * Wall 1: Allows travel on vertical surfaces. * Wall 2: Allows inverted travel, letting Sophia 3rd drive on ceilings. Appearances ''Meta Fight The tank was originally called the MA-01 Metal Attacker in ''Meta Fight. Sophia the 3rd originally referred to the planet where the game took place, while NORA was a satellite orbiting near the planet. ''Blaster Master Jason stumbled upon the vehicle when following his pet Fred down a hole. * Height: 4.0 m * Length: 6.5 m * Width: 6.0 m * Horsepower: 16,000 * Weight: 150 tons * Construction: Titanium Unlike the Japanese version, the tank is never actually given a name in the manual, although the "Sophia the 3rd NORA MA-01" display on the pause screen was left unchanged. Worlds of Power: Blaster Master The novel was the first piece of ''Blaster Master media to use the name "Sophia the 3rd" for the tank. It explains that Sophia 3rd auto-transfers weapon energy between Jason and the vehicle, and also states that the vehicle can jump from any surface, including semi-solids like lava. Eve brought it with her when she traveled to Earth. ''Blaster Master: Enemy Below '''Sophia 3rd' was slightly upgraded, increasing the model number to NORA MA-02 and enabling a new slate of general upgrades. * Hi-Jump: Further increases Sophia's jump height. * Engine Boost: Allows Sophia to roll forward even against high winds and powerful conveyor belts. * Hybrid Armor: Improves Sophia's damage absorption potential. ''Blaster Master 2 Sophia 3rd was upgraded to Sophia 4th, but referred to as S.O.P.H.I.A.. Blaster Master: Blasting Again Sophia 4th has been rebuilt into Sophia J-7. Beating the game allows the player to start a new game using Sophia 3rd, though it is functionally the same as Sophia J-7. Blaster Master: Overdrive Sophia 3rd has been re-imagined into S.O.P.H.I.A.. ''Blaster Master Zero In much the same manner as in the original game, SOPHIA III is a vehicle brought to Earth by Eve to combat the mutants. After escaping from Jason, Fred falls into a wormhole that leads to the SOPHIA III, which Jason follows him into. Jason then finds the tank and a blaster rifle, and uses it to go find Fred, whom the tank is able to track for some reason. The vehicle controls much the same as its original incarnation, but has a variety of abilities and subweapons that are unlocked via chips found after destroying bosses. It is revealed later in the game that Fred is a part of the SOPHIA III, being a disguised recon drone used to scout out areas, and opens a wormhole in order to return to the SOPHIA when he needs to. During the course of the game, the SOPHIA III is taken from Jason, but he is led by Fred to the Sophia Zero, an extremely powerful version with boosted abilities. SOPHIA III was infested by the Mutant Core, and Eve tried to take it away to destroy it by causing the SOPHIA III to self-destruct, but the mutant core took it over too quickly and prevented the self-destruction, corrupting it into Invem Sophia. Jason tracks down the possessed SOPIHA III with the SOPHIA Zero, successfully frees Eve from it, and destroys the SOPHIA III and the Mutant Core once and for all. Blaster Master Zero 2 Having been destroyed in the previous game, SOPHIA III does not appear in this game outside of the game's introduction sequence. However, parts of it were salvaged and used to construct Gaia-SOPHIA. Other Appearances Barcode World This 1992 Nintendo Famicom game was published by Sunsoft and featured a sheet of 30 cards for developer Epoch's Barcode Battler barcode-scanning collectible game device (also compatible with Barcode World's Famicom cartridge). Kane Gardner from Meta Fight is one of 8 character cards featured in the set, as a "SOLDIER-2" character. * See Also: Barcode Battler X Sunsoft on the Fictional Crossover Wiki Shanghai Musume: Mahjong Girls Sophia 3rd is featured on certain Mahjong tiles in the game. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero As of the July 2018 patch of this 2016 multiplat platformer by WayForward Technologies, Shantae can transform into a miniaturized Sophia III with the "Sophia III Dance". Category:Vehicles Category:Blaster Master Category:Blaster Master: Enemy Below Category:Blaster Master: Blasting Again Category:Blaster Master Zero Category:Metal Attackers